Running of the interns
United States Supreme Court practice
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The running of the interns was a Washington, DC, tradition, sometimes called a race,[1] involving interns of news outlets running to deliver results of major decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States to the press.[2][3] Many media outlets have made note of this, including BuzzFeed, Newsweek, NPR, and Cosmopolitan.[4][5][6][7]
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In recent years, the Supreme Court has released PDF opinions on supremecourt
History
Since 1946, recording devices have been banned inside the courtroom of the United States Supreme Court Building.[13] Thus, hand-delivered paper copies were the fastest way for news organizations to receive a particular landmark ruling.
The Supreme Court's decision is printed and delivered to a clerk's office, where it is handed to members of the press. Interns are not credentialed and must therefore wait in the hallway outside the press room.[1] Producers hand the paper copy rulings to their network interns who sprint to deliver them to their respective organizations. The run itself is approximately 1⁄8–1⁄4 mile (200–400 m), from the courtroom to broadcasters waiting outside.[14] Supporters and protestors alike cheer on the delivery of the opinions.[15] According to one intern, justices may still be announcing the decision by the time they are back inside.[2]
The interns often run wearing sneakers and business casual suits or skirts in 90 °F (32 °C) heat.[16]
In 2015, the interns were briefly removed after a CNN intern was caught by Supreme Court Police recording video footage with a GoPro camera.[17]
In 2016, interns relayed 13 decisions over three mornings.[1]